I am not picking on you at all Fairy, so do not take this personally please-but I have been here since the thread went up and do not find this to be true at least to what I think true sleuthing might reveal.
I think it is amazing harley came in with something I have been slugging away at for the last few days-what homes were empty, who owns what homes, what was foreclosed, for sale and what has been closed on since Steven disappeared?...for example. who were the real estate agents representing the properties, do the home businesses have appointments and business they do from home, or do they do their business elsewhere?? Do any of the real estate agents, home owners, businesses have any relationship to any aspect of Steven's life including employment??
To your point, laytonian-the one you made about a private email-working with the family is also about helping them work through their natural aversion to airing aspects of Steven's life on a webpage...it may seem like an awful disrespectful thing to do-but in the end the TRUTH never ever hurts. It only ever helps in MP cases. What if he WAS looking for love in that neighborhood? What if he was looking for companionship? What if he was absolutely desperate for money to restore face with his family? What if the appointment or encounter he was making in that neighborhood signaled more failure than success and he could not take another disappointment...
By being respectful to one another and to Steven's family we can still maintain a bridge to help them out if they wish it. If they do not, my focus is Steven. Still. If he wants to stay hidden, he is entitled to walk away from his life with his head held in the air. If he is nervous about coming back because of the stir, it is never too late.
All of you have worked hard and cared-Steven is a lucky man that he can inspire such compassion in strangers!!!